Very small Asinou Church is located in the Eastern part of the Troodos mountains not far from the village of Nikitari. The name of this Church was due to the same village that was once almost on this spot was founded by Greek settlers in the XI century BC, although the official Church bears the name of Panagia Forviotissa.

The temple was erected in the year 1056 Nikifor – husband of the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus. Literally within a few decades the Church became a Cathedral Church at large Forviyskogo monastery, which, however, fell into decay.

Asinou is a stone structure with a slate roof without the dome, made in the Byzantine style.

First of all, this Church is famous for its colourful frescoes of the XII-XVI centuries, which is perfectly preserved to our days. It is assumed that all of these Slavic masters. The Central part of the mural depicts scenes from the life of Jesus Christ, and of the Emperor Constantine and his mother St. Helena. In the apse depicts the virgin Mary, in the narthex – St. George on horseback. Also there you can see the scene of the raising of Lazarus, communion Mary and the apostles, etc. the Most ancient frescoes are in the Western and Eastern walls of the temple.

Thanks to this unique painting Asinou Church was listed in the world cultural heritage of UNESCO. In the middle of the twentieth century with the joint efforts of the Cypriot authorities and Harvard University was held a large-scale reconstruction of the wall paintings of the temple.

The Church of Asinou is very popular among pilgrims, tourists and lovers of antiquity. Despite its tiny size, it is one of the most famous monuments of Byzantine art in the world.